hallak cleaners | new york
1232 second avenue
new york, ny 10065
212.832.0750
hallak cleaners | new jersey
172 johnson avenue
hackensack, nj 07601
201.343.7333
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Home  FAQs/Library Fabric Description Dictionary |
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Fabric Description Dictionary
Ever wonder what your clothes are really made out of? Our fabric terms and definitions should help clear things up.
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| | C | | There are 18 entries in the glossary. | | Pages: 1 |
| Camel Hair | Hair from the camel. Sometimes blended with wool or imitated in wool. Weaves are normally twill or plain. It is of the Bactrian Species of the Chinese and Mongolian deserts. Under hair is best. It is light weight, lustrous and soft. It ranges from a light tan to a brownish-black color. Usually left its natural tones but can be dyed-usually navy and some red. It has quite a long nap and is warm. Better grades are expensive. Sometimes blended with wool to reduce the cost and increase the wear. All wool camel hair is not as lustrous and is spongy. Can have either a rich nap or a flat finish. Wears fairly well, particularly if blended. It is used in coats, women's suits, sports coats, sweaters, some blankets and put in some very expensive oriental rugs. It is also used in fine over coating, top coating, hosiery and transmission belts which will withstand dampness and moisture.
| | | | | Canvas | Made of linen or cotton with a plain weave. It is mostly rugged, heavy material made from plied yarns with body and strength. It is usually manufactured in the gray state but some is dyed for different uses. It is almost the same as duck in heavier weights with as an even weave. Ada or Java canvas is used for yarn, needlework, almost like a mesh. It is used in tents, sails, mail bags, sacks, covers, etc. Finer types used for embroidery and paintings. Hair canvas is an interfacing material in various weights.
| | | | | Cashmere | From the Kashmir goat, a hair fiber found in Kashmir India, Tibet, Iran, Iraq, China, Persia, Turkestan and Outer Mongolia. It is often mixed with wool or synthetics to cut costs and improve the wear. It comes in all weaves but mostly plain or twill, and all knits. The fiber is cylindrical, soft and silken. It is more like wool than any other hair fiber, and has a very soft silky finish; very light in weight. It doesn't stand up to hard wear on account of extremely soft downy finish. Natural fiber is white, black, brown or gray but can be died a variety of shades. It also comes in different weights. The textile industry is only interested in the soft fibers. It is knitted into sweaters for men and women, also women's dresses. It is often combed and sold in tops and noils.
| | | | | Charmeuse | Satin. Originated as a French lightweight silk that was recognized for its supreme luster and drapability. Today it is made out of rayon, cotton and manufactured fibers and has a dull back. It is found in a variety of solids and prints. It is used in pajamas, dresses, and draping gowns.
| | | | | Cheesecloth | Cotton with a plain weave. Originally used as a wrapping material for pressing cheese. It is loosely woven, thin, light in weight, open in construction, and soft. Carded yarns are always used. It is also called gauze weave. When woven in 36" widths it is called tobacco cloth. When an applied finish is added, it is called buckram, crinoline, or bunting. In the gray cloth, it is used for covering tobacco plants, tea bags and wiping cloths. Finished cloth is used for curtains, bandages, dust cloths, cheap bunting, hat lining, surgical gauze, fly nets, food wrapping, such as meat and cheese, costumes and basket tops.
| | | | | Chenille Fabric | Cotton and any of the main textile fibers. It has mostly a plain weave with a warp yarn of any major textile fiber. Filling of chenille yarns has a pile protruding all around at right angles. The word is French for caterpillar and the fabric looks hairy. Do not confuse this with tufted effects obtained without the use of true Chenille filling.
| | | | | Chiffon | Silk, rayon, cotton, synthetics with a plain weave. A light diaphanous fabric of silk, nylon, that is lightweight, sheer, or transparent. Made with very fine, tightly twisted yarns. The tightly twisted yarns could be either in the filling or the warp or both. It is very strong, despite filmy look and wears very well. It is very difficult to handle when sewing and it is best to baste the pieces over tissue to make it easier. It has slightly bumpy look. It is best suited to shirring, draping, gathering, and tucking, because it is so limp. If made in a straight sheath style, it should be underlined with very firm fabric, such as faille taffeta. It is used in after 5 wear, blouses, scarves.
| | | | | China Silk | Silk. Originally hand woven in China of silk from the Bonabyx mori. It is very soft and extremely lightweight but fairly strong. Irregularities of threads caused by the extreme lightness and softness are characteristic of the fabric. It is used mostly for linings and under linings, and could be used for blouses.
| | | | | Chinchilla | Cotton or wool, and some manmade and synthetics. The weave is sateen or twill construction with extra fillings for long floats. It does not resemble true chinchilla fur. Has small nubs on the surface of the fabric which are made by the chinchilla machine. It attacks the face and causes the long floats to be worked into nubs and balls. Cotton warp is often used because it cannot show from either side. Made in medium and heavy weights and has very warm and cozy fabrics. It takes its name from Chinchilla Spain where it was invented. It is used in cotton, for baby's blankets and bunting bags.
| | | | | Chino | Cotton with a twill weave. It is combined of two-ply warp and filling that has a sheen that remains. The fabric was purchased in China (thus the name) by the U.S. Army for uniforms. Originally used for army cloth in England many years before and dyed olive-drab. The fabric is mercerized and sanforised, and washes and wears extremely well with a minimum of care. It is used in army uniforms, summer suits and dresses, sportswear.
| | | | | Colorfastness | A fabric's ability to withstand environmental exposure, dry cleaning and laundering without fading or bleeding. Colorfastness depends on the types of fiber, dye and treatment used to set the color.
| | | | | Corduroy | Cotton, rayon, and other textile fibers, with filling Pile with both plain and twill back. It is made with an extra filling yarn, and is in the velvet family of fabrics. It has narrow medium and wide Wales, thick and thin or checkerboard patterns and has to be cut all one way with pile running up. Most of it is washable and wears very well. It also has a soft luster. It is used in children's clothes of all kinds, dresses, jackets, skirts, suits, slacks, sportswear, men's trousers, jackets, bedspreads, draperies, and upholstery.
| | | | | Cotton | A natural vegetable fiber of great economic importance as a raw material for cloth. Its widespread use is largely due to the ease with which its fibers are spun into yarns. Cotton's strength, absorbency, and capacity to be washed and dyed also make it adaptable to a considerable variety of textile products. It is one of the world's major textile fibers. It is made from bushy plants. The immature flower bud, called a square, blooms and develops into an oval fruit called a boll that splits open at maturity, revealing a mass of long white hairs, called lint, that cover the numerous brown or black seeds. There are four main types of cotton: American Upland, Egyptian, Sea Island and Asiatic. The flowers from which these different types of cotton are obtained vary in color and texture, thus providing each type of cotton with varying characteristics. Cotton, in general, is very elastic. It can withstand high temperatures, has high wash ability and is very susceptible to dyes.
| | | | | Cotton Duck | Heavy woven cotton canvas treated to be water resistant.
| | | | | Crepe | Woolen, worsted cotton, silk, and man-made synthetics, with a mostly plain, but various weaves. tt is a fine often gauzelike fabric with a wrinkled surface that has a crinkled, puckered surface or soft mossy finish. It comes in different weights and degrees of sheerness that is dull with a harsh dry feel. Woolen Crêpes are softer than worsted. If it is fine, it drapes well. It also has very good wearing qualities with a very slimming effect. Depending on weight, it is used for dresses of all types, including long dinner dresses, suits, and coats.
| | | | | Crepe de Chine | Silk warp and Crêpe twist silk filling 25 x 22 with more ends than picks per inch. It has a soft hand and considerable luster made of raw silk or rayon. It is easy to manipulate and handle and is very long wearing. Most of it launders well. It is fairly sheer and could be piece dyed or printed. It has a slight rippled texture. Heavy Crêpe de chine is called "Canton Crêpe" which is slightly ribbed and now mostly made in rayon.
| | | | | Crepe-Back Satin | Satin weave on the face and a Crêpe effect on the back obtained with twisted Crêpe yarns in the filling - 2 or 3 times as many ends as picks per inch. It is a soft fabric which is reversible and is usually piece dyed. Very interesting effects can be obtained in a garment by using both sides, in different parts, such as the Crêpe side for the body and trim or binding with the satin part up. It is used in dresses, blouses, linings, and after 5 wear.
| | | | | Crinoline | It is a very loosely woven fiber with high rigidity. It is smooth, stiff, and has excellent strength. It comes in a variety of shades from white to black. It is used for stiffening and making interlining for hat shapes.
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Glossary V2.0 |
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Hallak Cleaners, in Manhattan, NY on the upper east side and Hackensack, NJ, is a Certified Environmental Drycleaner, Certified Couture Cleaner, and Licensed Green Earth Cleaner offering a full range of services including, Bridal Gown Cleaning and Preservation, Wedding Gown Restoration, Designer Handbag and Purse Cleaning, Suede and Leather Cleaning, Fine French Hand Laundry for your Table and Bed Linens, Professional Drapery Take-Down and Re-Hang, Executive Custom Shirt Service, Christening Gown Cleaning and Restoration, Ugg Cleaning, Vintage Restoration, Professional Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration, Pillow Cleaning and Sanitizing, and a host of other specialty services. Click on Request Pick-Up to order our services.
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